Birmingham Brummies - Has The Come Back Trail Started?

[greyhoundp]

Christ knows what really happened, I know for sure I'd have preferred to not know the inner workings of speedway, a sport I've loved for 40 years but could quite happily now take or leave.

 

I firmly planted my feet in the Phillips Camp and despite my loyalty finished significantly out of pocket. I'd also previously found Graham Drury and Denise sound as a pound but saw a totally different side to them in 2013 but then I'm a forgiving soul.

 

Birmingham wise I unfortunately think its curtains unless Cradley take the plunge. I attended the last Brummies meeting at Belle Vue with a pitiful hardcore of maybe 20 fans max, that in itself speaks volumes. But I don't think it's just Birmingham, Peterborough, Eastbourne, Cradley etc who will close up, give it 5 years and I don't think speedway will exist in the UK apart from maybe the Cardiff GP, everything else will be amateur like grasstrack.

 

The fault of all this lies in the failure to move with the times. The entertainment £ is spent better elsewhere in 2014.

 

 

Nice post Chris. I just hope the powers that be read the last half of the post, and more important take note.

 

Speedway is an entertainment business, and its failed to compete and move with the times, post war the crowds were in 5 figures not much else to do. 70/80s the crowds were good 4 figure crowds, today for the most part they seem to be 3 figure to very low 4 figure crowds, there simply aint no where else to go from that, except follow Birmingham, Peterborough and Eastbourne.

 

Iv said before change things completely, throw in some 1 lap sprints, is it possible to even have some jumps on a straight ? the whole sport needs to be reinvented, even if it means different bikes, and changing the Sport completely, the importance of the centre green announcer has never been more important than it is now. more inter action between riders and fans blah blah blah.

 

Speedway as we have known it since the 2nd world war, is almost dead RIP.

[SGP]

WILL be amazed if there is even a product left to televise by the time the current TV deal concludes. There simply isn't enough money in the sport for it to be viable.

 

Any club that plans for the season may as well write-off attendence money from it's finances and aim to fund the season with sponsorship. Gate money alone wont work, so really, thanks to poor promotion and managements of the sport, no sponsors no club.

 

It's that simple.

Edited November 3, 2014 by SGP

[SCB]

WILL be amazed if there is even a product left to televise by the time the current TV deal concludes. There simply isn't enough money in the sport for it to be viable.

 

Any club that plans for the season may as well write-off attendence money from it's finances and aim to fund the season with sponsorship. Gate money alone wont work, so really, thanks to poor promotion and managements of the sport, no sponsors no club.

 

It's that simple.

That would be my thinking. Pack the place out at £5 a person and sell it to sponsors, "I have 4000 here" rather than getting 800 people paying £17 and getting a free bucket of KFC, half price programme printing and the life time supply of nails, screws and bathtubs from sponsor.

 

I could be out of business by May though, but at least I would have tried something different.

[topsoil]

If you really want to promote the sport, meetings on Sky TV are the best place to start in my opinion. I would follow the example Lakeside set a few years ago. They announced free entry and about 7,000 turned up according to Sky. I don't see why more promoters don't follow a similar pattern for TV meetings. If you can get a sponsor to meet part of the costs, get one in. Then promote the hell out of that sponsor, stick their goods in prominent places, get the track staff, start girls in t-shirts or sweatshirts with their logos, get one of their reps. to do the coin toss for heats 1 and 15, an interview with a sponsor with Kelvin or Chris Louis. That way the sponsor gets great exposure and value for money, the TV viewers see a stadium full of fans and any potential sponsors see that the sport is a worthwhile market place.

[mikebv]

 

 

Nice post Chris. I just hope the powers that be read the last half of the post, and more important take note.

 

Speedway is an entertainment business, and its failed to compete and move with the times, post war the crowds were in 5 figures not much else to do. 70/80s the crowds were good 4 figure crowds, today for the most part they seem to be 3 figure to very low 4 figure crowds, there simply aint no where else to go from that, except follow Birmingham, Peterborough and Eastbourne.

 

Iv said before change things completely, throw in some 1 lap sprints, is it possible to even have some jumps on a straight ? the whole sport needs to be reinvented, even if it means different bikes, and changing the Sport completely, the importance of the centre green announcer has never been more important than it is now. more inter action between riders and fans blah blah blah.

 

Speedway as we have known it since the 2nd world war, is almost dead RIP.

Not to many of the promoters who own clubs it isn't....

 

And therein lies the problem..

 

To many of the promoters it is a 'winning at all costs business' as they incredibly still see winning trophies as having some 'kudos'....

 

Hence the minute any new rules are ratified, many will go through in fine detail what the rule 'doesn't say' to gain an advantage..

 

Hence meetings are called off for 'fictitious floods'...

 

Hence meetings are called off due to inclement weather when no one else in the locality has suffered any, yet coincidentally the teams' No1 got injured the night before...

 

Hence tracks are presented, in the vast majority of cases, to provide the home team with a huge advantage rather than be conducive for close racing...

 

Hence 'new' riders' averages are often 'surprising', FTR levels are changed, and sudden illnesses take place to enable 'guest' riders who ride a specific track better to ride in a meeting..

 

I do know of a conversation with a promoter re the lack of entertainment his track threw up every week and he flatly said entertainment is a bonus, as winning is the aim each week with the ultimate aim being a trophy at the end of the season...

 

Two diametrically opposing requirements from the sport,..

 

One demanded (and delivered) by those who run it...

 

The other (and often ignored) is demanded by those who pay to get in to watch...

 

The ultimate irony of course is that winning with someone else's riders is usually the outcome so how can anyone get any real 'kudos' from that??

 

Simply no one out of the (ever dwindling) 'Speedway Bubble' will ever care....

 

And until entertainment becomes the key watchword from a night out watching the sport, Speedway will continue to disappear off even more people's radar...

[ch958]

Not to many of the promoters who own clubs it isn't....

 

And therein lies the problem..

 

To many of the promoters it is a 'winning at all costs business' as they incredibly still see winning trophies as having some 'kudos'....

 

Hence the minute any new rules are ratified, many will go through in fine detail what the rule 'doesn't say' to gain an advantage..

 

Hence meetings are called off for 'fictitious floods'...

 

Hence meetings are called off due to inclement weather when no one else in the locality has suffered any, yet coincidentally the teams' No1 got injured the night before...

 

Hence tracks are presented, in the vast majority of cases, to provide the home team with a huge advantage rather than be conducive for close racing...

 

Hence 'new' riders' averages are often 'surprising', FTR levels are changed, and sudden illnesses take place to enable 'guest' riders who ride a specific track better to ride in a meeting..

 

I do know of a conversation with a promoter re the lack of entertainment his track threw up every week and he flatly said entertainment is a bonus, as winning is the aim each week with the ultimate aim being a trophy at the end of the season...

 

Two diametrically opposing requirements from the sport,..

 

One demanded (and delivered) by those who run it...

 

The other (and often ignored) is demanded by those who pay to get in to watch...

 

The ultimate irony of course is that winning with someone else's riders is usually the outcome so how can anyone get any real 'kudos' from that??

 

Simply no one out of the (ever dwindling) 'Speedway Bubble' will ever care....

 

And until entertainment becomes the key watchword from a night out watching the sport, Speedway will continue to disappear off even more people's radar...

 

i think in the past promoters wanted to promote the speedway night as an event whereas today they assume a winning team will bring the fans in

i think i know which has been the more succesful of the two approaches

[Brummies_Ste]

 

Tony Mole can't dig Birmingham Brummies out of their hole

 

Nov 04, 2014 08:59

By Nigel Pearson

Tony Mole has pulled the plug on plans for Birmingham Brummies to return to the Premier or Elite League next season after sponsors and investors refused to respond to requests for help.

 

Tony Mole says anybody interested in reviving the Birmingham Brummies will have to start from nothing.

 

Mole has pulled the plug on plans for the club to return to the Premier or Elite League next season after sponsors and investors refused to respond to requests for help.

 

And he said: “This is basically down to the mess left by the previous promotion.

 

“We’ve been approaching sponsors who would have been happy to help but they have been left feeling very bitter about what happened last season.

 

“And we have season-ticket holders who paid for a full season of speedway only to see half of it at best. There is too much apathy at the moment.

 

“To run Birmingham in the top two divisions is a step too far at the moment and I’m sad it has come to this, but it’s a crying shame there is a perfectly good track and stadium doing nothing where speedway is concerned. We even had one sponsor who would have been happy to help but was left thousands out of pocket last season. I can’t believe how bad it got.

 

“I would welcome any move to bring Birmingham back and would support it wholeheartedly .”

 

But Mole has also warned time is of the essence with the British Speedway AGM coming up next week.

 

“That’s the time when declaration needs to be made to the British Speedway Association for membership of the top two leagues and if anyone wants to step up and do it now is the time,” he said.

 

“There are so many Birmingham fans who have been left disappointed and I can fully understand that, but at no time did I ever intend to build up their hopes.

 

“The bottom line is there is a lack of investment right now and at my age I cannot take on the full-time commitment and pressure of running Birmingham all on my own.

 

“The mess left over from the previous promotion has, unfortunately, proven to be too much to overcome.”

 

Modify message

[Brummie Kev]

Had the BSPA acted at the end of 2013 when they were warned by trustworthy people that Brummies under Phillips was heading for financial meltdown then a Phoenix would have risen out of the flames and in all likelihood a Brummies team would be functioning today.

 

Had they heeded similar warnings about Mallett at Newport 2 years before there still could have been speedway in South Wales!

 

The sport is on its knees and it's self governed body is allowing people who aren't fit for purpose to drive more nails into an already well worn coffin!

 

Where's next?

 

Great post, couldnt agree more. I wonder why more questions werent asked at the end of the 2013 season. I mean we finish runners up and Phillips is still losing tens of thousands of pounds and nothing is done about it. I personally think questions should have been asked about his suitability as a owner then and whether we as a club we should have been allowed to stay in the EL. Tony Mole at the time was willing to buy the club back.

 

If all what happened in June had happened after the 2013 season, I feel we would still be going. The problem we had closing mid season is we have lost our sponsors. They seemingly want to rinse their hands of speedway after the way they were treated to be honest who can blame them. Sponsorship is crucial to any Birmingham team coming back as we didnt have great crowds. So without them its a no go

 

I know when it all went wrong in June, the bspa did try and keep the club open but it was after the horse had bolted. Too late sadly

Edited November 4, 2014 by Brummie Kev

[SCB]

 

i think in the past promoters wanted to promote the speedway night as an event whereas today they assume a winning team will bring the fans in

i think i know which has been the more succesful of the two approaches

And thats why they'll fail. Only 50% of teams in a meeting can ever win. Only ~10% of teams can win a title at the end of the season. What the fans want is to see their team win home meetings, I'd bring in some rules that encourages massive home wins - sod what a team does away as away wins are not good, maybe 2-5% of a crowd is made up of away fans who if they are hard core enough to be travelling probably won't be as bothered about a loss as a floating home supporter will be. Every team need a rider who is good for 10 points at home even if 4 or 5 is all he can expect away from home, it keeps the locals happy.

 

To attract people initially its needs to be entertaining (and I don't think the sport is any more or less entertaining now than it ever has been watching videos), on that point I agree. But after that, take a look at any sport. Who gets the crowds? It's the teams who win, the players who win. Not the guy or team who are "entertaining" but keep losing, people pay to watch winners/winning.

Edited November 4, 2014 by SCB

[comet49]

Yes, fans want to see their team win at home but they also want to see competitive matches with good races.

Edited November 4, 2014 by comet49

[SCB]

Yes, fans want to see thier team win at home but they also want to see competitive matches with good races.

I want to say so why is Perry Barr now standing empty as racing has always been good there. But they finished top of the league and made a play-off final the season before last and that failed too.

 

I could be wrong but generally, the safer and more stable clubs are the clubs with a decent home track advantage.

 

And something I don't get is people demanding names. None of my mates if I took them along would know if they were watching Chris/Tai/Greg the World Champion, Hans one of the top EL guys, Cook one of the top PL guys or Greenwood one of the top NL guys. Names don't draw in a crowd IMO with the possible exception of "the World Champion" but thats a title, not a name.

 

And lets be honest, if the sport was slightly less embarrassing, we'd all be more likely to drag along a few friends - so I'm not convinced actual "promotion"/advertising is needed. Just running a good, clean, slick show.

Edited November 4, 2014 by SCB

[The White Knight]

And thats why they'll fail. Only 50% of teams in a meeting can ever win. Only ~10% of teams can win a title at the end of the season. What the fans want is to see their team win home meetings, I'd bring in some rules that encourages massive home wins - sod what a team does away as away wins are not good, maybe 2-5% of a crowd is made up of away fans who if they are hard core enough to be travelling probably won't be as bothered about a loss as a floating home supporter will be. Every team need a rider who is good for 10 points at home even if 4 or 5 is all he can expect away from home, it keeps the locals happy.

 

To attract people initially its needs to be entertaining (and I don't think the sport is any more or less entertaining now than it ever has been watching videos), on that point I agree. But after that, take a look at any sport. Who gets the crowds? It's the teams who win, the players who win. Not the guy or team who are "entertaining" but keep losing, people pay to watch winners/winning.

That sounds great for me.

 

Getting rid of the bloody Tactical Substitute/Tactical Ride would be a great start.

 

It might even get me to go again.

[SteveLyric2]

I want to say so why is Perry Barr now standing empty as racing has always been good there. But they finished top of the league and made a play-off final the season before last and that failed too.

 

I could be wrong but generally, the safer and more stable clubs are the clubs with a decent home track advantage.

 

And something I don't get is people demanding names. None of my mates if I took them along would know if they were watching Chris/Tai/Greg the World Champion, Hans one of the top EL guys, Cook one of the top PL guys or Greenwood one of the top NL guys. Names don't draw in a crowd IMO with the possible exception of "the World Champion" but thats a title, not a name.

 

And lets be honest, if the sport was slightly less embarrassing, we'd all be more likely to drag along a few friends - so I'm not convinced actual "promotion"/advertising is needed. Just running a good, clean, slick show.

Can't disagree with much of your last 2 posts. However I would add in the issue of facilities, which I know in most cases is out of the direct control of the promoters - but there has to be some positive moves to improve spectator facilities at many of our venues.

 

To attract new or past fans to a decent racing product will still likely fail if there isn't a modicum of comfort in this day and age. You only have to look at the venues/stadia of other sports/entertainment to see what speedway is competing with!

[SCB]

Can't disagree with much of your last 2 posts. However I would add in the issue of facilities, which I know in most cases is out of the direct control of the promoters - but there has to be some positive moves to improve spectator facilities at many of our venues.

 

To attract new or past fans to a decent racing product will still likely fail if there isn't a modicum of comfort in this day and age. You only have to look at the venues/stadia of other sports/entertainment to see what speedway is competing with!

Agreed. But I was trying to look at things that could be changed, the facilities are in the main beyond promoters control. That said, I sure they could spend a little tidying things up - I'm not convinced it would be that hard to have a group of fans in on the weekends tidying and fixing up a lot of the mess in stadiums and I'm sure the landlords would love it too.

[tigerowl]

As well as home wins, fans want to feel that they belong to something and the riders play a big part in this. I have just posted on another thread the team line ups for the PL in 1999 and I was struck by how many riders were British and local to their tracks.

 

Sheffield won the league that year with a team which consisted of all English riders with Simon Stead, Scott Smith, and James Birkinshaw being from the city, Sean Wilson, Andre Compton and Simon Cartwright from Yorkshire and Paul Lee, Adam Allott, Andrew Moore and Peter Boast all from the north of England. There was no doubling up and it felt like the riders were Sheffield riders and wanted to be so.

 

In the last few years we have had less local lads, and some of the doubling up riders clearly did not want to be there. The crowds have dropped accordingly.

[uk_martin]

In the last few years we have had less local lads, and some of the doubling up riders clearly did not want to be there. The crowds have dropped accordingly.

 

So when Chelski or Mansour City field an all-star non-English team, their fortunes and crowds will wither away too???

[Sir Jasper]

 

So when Chelski or Mansour City field an all-star non-English team, their fortunes and crowds will wither away too???

 

No, because the market is bigger. However the crowd definetly changes, Mourinho was moaning about the lack of atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, why? because the ground is full of tourist fans. Old Trafford is the same. I have long said that allow teams to uild and keep riders will go a long way to keeping fans interested. Young kids start going one season, the next season they are watching a different set of riders, they lose interest the majority of the time.

[greyhoundp]

Seems we are getting a little sidetracked from Is there any Come Back, to the general ills of British Speedway.

[bluejam]

 

Edited November 9, 2014 by bluejam

[bluejam]

 

I think like a lot of things, it's never as simple as just being able to blame one or two people for what happened. Without trying to excuse any of the wrongs done by the last promotion, just to blame the Philips's ignores the fact that for several years before, there had been a highly damaging battle at board room level between the Drury's on one side and (in the end) McLaughlin and Philips on the other. It was a battle that divided people into two camps depending on whose side they were on, it lost the club sponsors (interesting to note that Mercom were latterly sponsoring Swindon and not Birmingham?) it caused the sidelining of the Drury's from the public eye (note Graham Drury playing no active part in the latter year's fans forums) and it caused the parting of the ways between Drury's friends and acquaintances in the establishment (e.g. AP Media and Nigel Pearson) when Philips and McLaughlin wanted to do things their own way.

 

Sadly taking on Graham Drury was one thing but taking on his allies in "the establishment" was a bridge too far. You don't get to encounter the forces of "our way or no way" without falling victim and eventually, when the Empire Struck Back, heads rolled and grovelling apologies were extracted. And that was before the 2014 season had even started.

 

I can quite believe that the BSPA spun a believable strory to why they were whiter than white. They always are, aren't they? And led by an impecably honest and upstanding citizen too.

 

Nothing's ever simple in speedway and nothings ever what it seems either.

I think like a lot of things, it's never as simple as just being able to blame one or two people for what happened. Without trying to excuse any of the wrongs done by the last promotion, just to blame the Philips's ignores the fact that for several years before, there had been a highly damaging battle at board room level between the Drury's on one side and (in the end) McLaughlin and Philips on the other. It was a battle that divided people into two camps depending on whose side they were on, it lost the club sponsors (interesting to note that Mercom were latterly sponsoring Swindon and not Birmingham?) it caused the sidelining of the Drury's from the public eye (note Graham Drury playing no active part in the latter year's fans forums) and it caused the parting of the ways between Drury's friends and acquaintances in the establishment (e.g. AP Media and Nigel Pearson) when Philips and McLaughlin wanted to do things their own way.

 

Sadly taking on Graham Drury was one thing but taking on his allies in "the establishment" was a bridge too far. You don't get to encounter the forces of "our way or no way" without falling victim and eventually, when the Empire Struck Back, heads rolled and grovelling apologies were extracted. And that was before the 2014 season had even started.

 

I can quite believe that the BSPA spun a believable strory to why they were whiter than white. They always are, aren't they? And led by an impecably honest and upstanding citizen too.

 

Nothing's ever simple in speedway and nothings ever what it seems either.

 

 

Lets try again!

 

That "impeccably honest and upstanding citizen" from the BSPA(mentioning no names),boarded my train at Rugby a few weeks back without a valid ticket to travel !!! Kind of says it all!!